Russia ousted from U.N. Human Rights Council amid allegations of Syrian war crimes

Russian ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin (L) and Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov talk during the Security Council Meeting
held during the 70th session of the General Debate of the United Nations
General Assembly at the UN in New York City on September 30, 2015.
Russia lost its seat Eastern Europe on the United Nations Human Rights
Council in a vote Friday losing by two votes to Croatia and by 32 votes
to Hungary. Photo by Monika Graff/UPI

| License Photo

Russia lost its seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council by a narrow margin following a vote on Friday.

Russia received a total of 112 votes to remain
as one of two Eastern European seats on the council devoted to human
rights, losing by two votes to Croatia and by 32 votes to Hungary, according to the New York Times.

The vote represented the first time a
permanent member had lost its seat on the 47 member U.N. Security
Council since it was established in 2006.

The United States, United Kingdom, Saudi
Arabia and China were all re-elected to their seats on the council
essentially unopposed.

New Zealand envoy Gerard van Bohemen said
there was a "small intake of air" followed the announcement Russia had
lost its seat. He said the country's conduct in Syria including the
massive aerial bombing assault on Aleppo "must have played a part."

Multiple human rights groups protested
Russia's bid to remain on the council due to its actions during the
Syrian conflict which has killed at least 400,000 people, according to CNN.

Also, the refusal of government in Moscow to
accept security council resolutions to seek an end to the Syriam
conflict has possibly factored in to the lack of UN support for Russia,
officials said.

"The non-election of Russia shows that the
nations of the world can reject gross abusers if they so choose," U.N.
watchdog group, UN Watch, said after the vote.

"We need a break," Russian ambassador Vitaly
I. Churkin said in response to questions about the influence Russia's
actions in Syria had on the vote.

The United States experienced a similar scenario in 2001 when it lost its seat
on the U.N. Human Rights Commission, which was later replaced by the
council. The United States regained its position the next year.

Despite Russia losing its seat, human rights
activists were troubled by the re-election of Saudi Arabia, China and
Cuba. UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer said it "casts a shadow
upon the reputation of the United Nations."